How Do I Get Scholarships for Children of Veterans?
If you are the child or grandchild of a veteran, many college scholarships are set aside for you. Scholarships for children of veterans often honor the fallen and their service.
Many awards come from the branch of the military in which the veteran served. As such, you may find unique scholarship opportunities from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard.
Scholarships for children of veterans come with criteria for eligibility. One aspect relates to your parent. Another, to you and your education.
Some scholarships for children of veterans support students pursuing a specific undergraduate major. While others (e.g. AMVETs) may be available to a more general pool of applicants who meet their criteria.
With respect to your parent, you may need to be the son or daughter of one of these groups.
Regular active duty
Active duty Reserve National Guard active duty
U.S. Army members in good standing
Former U.S. Army members who received an honorable or medical discharge
Your parent was killed while serving in the U.S. Army
Apart from your family status, other criteria streamline the pool of applicants. So, you may need to be a high school senior, high school graduate, or registered as an undergrad.
You may also need to show you enrolled at an accredited college, post high school trade or technical school. Here are a few other common criteria you might need to meet.
Have a specific GPA (E.g. 2.0)
Be a U.S. citizen and / or show proof of residency
Meet an age rule (E.g. you are before your 24th birthday)
Not have earned a bachelor’s degree from a college or university
How Do I Apply to a College Scholarship?
You can expect to complete an application form and support it with other documents. You may have to submit an essay, photo, and certificate of good service (or a parents’ DD214).
Merit based awards may ask for other material too. Things like a resume of your community service and school transcripts.
Need based awards usually rely on info from your FAFSA. So, they may ask for a completed SAR (Student Aid Report). Though some forms want to see tax forms instead.
Are There Government Scholarships and Aid for Children of Veterans?
As the child of a service member, your parent may transfer post 9/11 benefits to you. You must request this while serving as an active member of the Armed Forces.
You are not usually allowed to receive both awards. That’s unless your parent died before August 1, 2011. Then you might have to use one benefit at a time. Also, the combined benefits reach a cap at a total of 81 months of full time training.
The Fry Scholarship is also called the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship. It provides Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children service members. You may be eligible if the service member died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.
DEA is the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program. It offers education and training opportunities to eligible dependents of Veterans. To be eligible, the veteran must be disabled due to a service related condition. Also you may be the child of veterans who died while on active duty or as a result of a service related condition.
Why Should Children of Veterans Apply for Scholarships?
Scholarships for children of veterans may help pay for your college and continuing education. There are various scholarship awards if you qualify.
As the child of an American soldier or of a fallen hero, you may face many challenges. Some of these issues relate to deployment like moving often and separation from loved ones.
About 46 % of veterans have children. Many (12%) are also members of Disabled American Veterans (DAV). About 67% have a parent(s) with some college who did not earn a degree.
Many college scholarships are competitive. Ones that are open to both military and non military applicants, they may be harder to get. Try to find local scholarships which you may be able to easily win.
Military scholarships are one of the support systems in place to help. They may also bridge the gap between shrinking state funding and the price of college.
Also, a public college’s average tuition, fees and housing cost about $17,237. However, it’s more expensive at private colleges.
Scholarships for sons, daughters and grandchildren of veterans are only for you. Since they are not loans, you also don’t need to worry about repaying the money.
There are many sources of scholarships to look into. Colleges, nonprofits and the military community may offer scholarships for children of veterans. Make sure to look into these valuable resources. They may help make your dream of a college degree come true.
List of Scholarships for Children of Veterans
There are awards worth below. Apply now to our list of scholarships for children of veterans.
This award is available to children or grandchildren of a United States veteran who is an AMVETS member, or if deceased, would have been eligible for AMVETS membership. The applicant must be a high school senior with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
High school seniors and current undergraduate students who are children of U.S. Marines or Navy Corpsmen who served with the Marines are eligible for this award. Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher, and a family income of $98,000 or less.
